Syllabary
by RomansRoad
Summary: Short snippets of different moments between Korra and Mako. Each chapter inspired by a word beginning with each letter A-Z. Chapter Two: Bookish
1. Chapter 1: Abroad

_Abroad_

It comes as a shock to all of them when Korra announces that she is leaving Republic City until further notice. She sees the wide range of emotions flash through their eyes, varying from bewilderment to support to pain.

She vanishes out the doorway before any of them can say anything. She's never been good at farewells.

Later that night, as she stands in the cool, moonlit night atop a rocky outcropping of Air Temple Island one last time, she senses his presence behind her, moments before his arms snake around her waist.

They stand like that for a long while.

Eventually, Mako breaks the silence. "Why?"

Korra heaves a sigh and moves apart from him. She poises herself precariously over the edge of the cliff. "To travel. To learn. To _see._" She sweeps her arm and lets loose a blast of air as she says the last bit.

He nods, staring at the leaves drifting around his feet. "Well then."

She pivots only slightly before he has her in his arms, crushing her lips to his, hands roving over her face and neck in a last attempt to memorize each of her features.

Stepping back, they are both breathless and weak-kneed. He locks his gaze upon her one last time, drinking her in as though she is the last sip of water in a sea of sand. He turns and disappears into the woods.

She raises her fingertips and lightly traces the intricate betrothal necklace he has fastened around her neck.

* * *

_In with quite a bang, it would seem. They won't all be like this, of course. Series of short snippets on Korra and Mako, each chapter using a word starting with a different letter until I've gotten through all twenty-six letters!_

_Any input is greatly appreciated!_

_~RR_


	2. Chapter 2: Bookish

_Bookish_

The light is on in the room next to him and Mako is trying to ignore it, but the light has been on for _so long _that eventually he tosses the blankets off his body and gets to his feet, back popping and tendons snapping in complaint from the abuse they received earlier that evening.

He wanders blearily to the door and yanks it open, the sudden rush of brightness making him blink and stumble slightly before he regains his balance and takes a step into the hallway.

He pokes his head around the doorframe of the room that is emitting the glow. Korra is lying on her back with her feet stretched up the wall amid a pile of books on the bed, nose buried in one of the novels. She tilts her head backward to see him when he releases an involuntary groan at the intensity of the light.

"What are you doing?" Mako asks, scrubbing at his eyes in a futile attempt to make the spots in his vision go away.

She gives him a smile that is placed somewhere between _I think you're incredibly cute when you scrunch up your nose like that _and _There is a book in my hands and books littering my bed, chances are that I'm reading at least one of them _and answers simply, "Reading."

He frowns at her, trying to make his tired mind comprehend that some people do enjoy being awake at immoral times of the night and that not everyone goes straight to bed once the day's activities are done.

His face must be more pity-inducing that he thought, because Korra sets aside her book and shoves the rest into an undignified heap on the floor—the dull _thud _is so loud that Mako feels it in his chest and is sure that no one in the vicinity is asleep after the reverberations recede—and gestures him to the place beside her on the bed.

She scoots up so that she is leaning against the wall by her pillow. Mako lies down and puts his head in her lap, his eyes already sinking shut at the comfort of the mattress and the warmth that Korra's body provides. She picks up her book and begins reading softly aloud to him, murmuring words about The Cave of Two Lovers and the long, cold nights spent at the North Pole watching the stars, and her hand is running gently through his hair and across his cheekbones.

He rouses hours later to find that the sky is still dark, but Korra is now snuggled against his chest, fast asleep, her body heat loosening the stiffness in his joints. He pulls her closer to him and revels in the feeling for a few moments before he allows his eyes to slip closed once again as he surrenders to sleep.

* * *

_I have no idea where they are...maybe a different setup of Air Temple Island, maybe some beach-side resort, it's up to you!_

_I wasn't expecting to get this second chapter up so quickly, but it seemed to come quite naturally and was on paper before I realized it. No complaints there!_

_~RR_


End file.
